DdCno1
@DdCno1@beehaw.org
- Comment on Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Xbox: ‘We have to turn this into a sustainable business’ 1 week ago:
Sure, I don’t think the Xbox 5 will be a success, but it’s highly likely it’ll still ship far more units than the Gabecube, simply because Microsoft is able to shift more units as a larger organization with more presence everywhere (including in the retail space and online stores other than their own).
The difference is that for an organization the size and bloat of Microsoft, numbers that would make Gabe happy would be disastrous for them.
No consumer actually cares about minute differences in performance (or other aspects) between different operating systems and platforms. People buy the platform that has the games and meaningful features they seek, like for example portability, Nintendo’s second-strongest pull after their IPs. Microsoft is hastily trying to claw back their exclusives after a disastrous abandonment of this strategy, which sent margins down the drain. Yes, this will mean that they’ll continue serving the PC, so you can play most of their games on Valve’s devices or any other gaming PC as well, but once more: Normal people buy what’s on the front page on Amazon or on the most illuminated shelf at their local store.
The overwhelming majority don’t even configure their task bar, for crying out loud. Seeing an unmodified one with the big useless search box, spam widget, applications they are never using is one of the quickest reliable indicators that someone is not a tech person.
- Comment on Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Xbox: ‘We have to turn this into a sustainable business’ 1 week ago:
Look at sales of the Steam Deck compared to consoles and your prediction falls flat on its face. Sure, it would be nice in theory, but both the Deck and the Gabecube are very niche devices.
- Comment on Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Xbox: ‘We have to turn this into a sustainable business’ 1 week ago:
It was kind of neat in the beginning, at least in theory - and not just from a consumer perspective: Indies in particular benefited from it, since it raised awareness on their titles in addition to the big bucks from Microsoft coming in:
- Comment on Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Xbox: ‘We have to turn this into a sustainable business’ 1 week ago:
Based on everything I’ve read, Redfall was pretty much entirely on Arkane, just like, at EA, Anthem was on Bioware’s internal leadership, not publisher meddling. On the contrary, more publisher meddling would have likely made these disasters less likely.
- Comment on Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Xbox: ‘We have to turn this into a sustainable business’ 1 week ago:
Eh, both the Steam Deck and the Gabecube are far too niche and unknown for that. I’ve used the Steam Deck on public transportation and pretty much everyone assumed that it was a Nintendo Switch at first - and I had to go to great length to explain what it was.
One notable exception (out of a small handful) was a mother who recognized it as something different and asked me a ton of questions about it, because she wanted to reward her studious son (who sat next to us wide-eyed, with increasing levels of giddiness) for his great marks with it.
- Comment on Analysts Say Video Game Hardware Isn't Getting Cheaper Anytime Soon 2 weeks ago:
The number of people doing this is so infinitesimally small that even within the most enthusiast circles, it’s practically unheard of. It’s a footnote of a footnote, at best.
- Comment on GOG apologizes for emailing Nazi runes to its followers 2 weeks ago:
The S rune is not the only issue. By combination of runes, I meant the whole thing. All of these runes have been used by Nazis and extensively so. While the rune used by the SS is the most well known, this is like a best-of of which runes Heinrich Himmler and modern Nazis are especially fond of.
- Comment on GOG apologizes for emailing Nazi runes to its followers 2 weeks ago:
Holy hell, this does not look like an accident. This combination of runes does not just happen. Whoever did this at the company thought they could get away with it.
- Comment on Searching for 'Disregard' Breaks Google AI overviews; Similar command phrases, including "ignore," "quit," "skip," and "stop,"; "look" and "forget" are also prompting chatbot-like responses. 4 weeks ago:
Google claims they do. During their last presentation, they boasted about billions of users of their AI. The sheer gall of these people!
- Comment on SHL0MS(famous prankster on X/Twitter) baited AI haters by posting a real painting by Monet, claiming it was AI generated. The post got viral(>6M views) as art critics started deleting their replies 5 weeks ago:
The vast majority of people are unaware of the existence of such tools.
- Comment on A million baby monitors and security cameras were easily viewable by hackers 1 month ago:
About 16, 17 years ago, I was briefly obsessed with browsing freely accessible webcams on the Internet. Most were surveillance cameras outside of businesses (some even with motorized controls!) and it was fun to explore the world that way: I saw sunrises in the Arctic Circle, busy Asian city streets, lots of interesting everyday moments from around the globe. Just harmless fun, right?
However, two cameras I stumbled upon made me stop this entirely: One was from an office in Russia, a hidden camera placed under a desk shared by several young women wearing short skirts. The other (thus the connection to the title) was a camera inside someone’s home, right above a baby sleeping in their crib. In fact, the entire house, every single room, was covered in cameras, all of them accessible to the world. I felt like the worst creep, even though I found both completely by accident.
- Comment on OpenAI shelves Stargate UK in blow to Britain’s AI ambitions 2 months ago:
Maybe they should ask their AI for ideas on how to make money.
By the way: Why are AI companies still on a hiring spree while at the same time peddling AI as a replacement of high-skill white collar jobs, like software engineering?
- Comment on Linux kernel maintainers are following through on removing Intel 486 support 2 months ago:
Sometimes, the issue is certification, e.g. for aerospace and medical applications - although these systems tend to run on decades-old software anyway (since changes to the software also need to be certified, which rarely happens), so it’s not like this has an actual impact.
- Comment on Men Are Buying Hacking Tools to Use Against Their Wives and Friends 2 months ago:
Decreasing friction is a problem though. In the past, you needed at least some basic skills to e.g. photoshop a compromising photo of someone (and quite a lot of experience to do so convincingly), whereas current AI tools can do this far better with no skills required.
- Comment on Used EV sales spike alongside gas prices 2 months ago:
A relative of mine switched to a BEV - KGM Torres EVX, a bargain from South Korea with 462 km (287 mi) WLTP range, which he regularly exceeds - after years of driving plug-in hybrids from Mitsubishi just a few months ago. He obviously could not be happier, given current gas prices (except that the driver’s seat holds up exactly as poorly as on the Mitsubishis). He does not have a wall box, by the way: All of his charging is done through public chargers and a slow wall outlet at work. At between €28 and 36 per full recharge, it’s a very cheap car to drive.
Even when he was driving his prior hybrids, he was barely ever using the internal combustion engine - to the point that the car would occasionally warn him to refresh the gas in the tank - since he was doing almost all of his driving in EV-mode.
- Comment on Journalists convinced a AI Vending Machine Things to give them free stuff like a PS5 5 months ago:
Reminds me of iOS users (who tend to be financially better off) getting charged more than Android users. Random recent-ish examples, but this goes way back:
timelinedaily.com/…/ride-hailing-apps-charge-ipho…
- Comment on Five years from launch the PS5 is a roaring success, so why doesn't it feel like it? [Eurogamer] 7 months ago:
Expedition 33
I haven’t tried this game on the Deck yet, so I can’t confirm these work, but have you looked at how other people have achieved 30 fps on protondb?
www.protondb.com/app/1903340?device=steamDeck
Another option would be to lower difficulty, if you haven’t already. IIRC, the parry window is much wider on easy.
The friends we asked also gave split opinions
Classic too many cooks problem. Best stick to one person who seems like they know what they are talking about. Don’t look at me, I’m just pretending. ;)
but I’m not sure about ventilation then
The more, the merrier. Map out a clear path for the air to travel through the device, from the least hot to the hottest component and out again. Larger fans are quieter at the same amount of air moved than smaller ones. Cable management gets more important the smaller the case is, so make sure to pick a modular power supply and tuck everything that can be tucked away neatly out of sight and out of the way of the airflow.
Without SteamOS it seems I’d need a keyboard/mouse out for every boot too.
You can configure Steam to immediately launch in Big Picture mode on any operating system it supports. There are many ways of achieving this, but here’s a simple script for Windows:
For couch PC gaming, I would also recommend getting one of these cheap and simple little keyboard and mouse remotes (I have amassed several over the years, for some reason).
I’m also not knowledgable about specs, but I figured when, say, Borderlands 4 is not playable at 4K 60fps, then I could just deal with Full HD 30-40fps, which would be enough.
I would recommend waiting until it’s out and people have thoroughly tested it. Within a few days of it reaching the hands of customers, there should be plenty of videos, articles and forum reports on how well it performs with all sorts of games, including particularly demanding ones like Borderlands 4. Digital Foundry are the best address for this kind of performance analysis.
The closest solution is PS5 Pro or PS6 when it comes out (and they fit on shelf, never checked size)
The PS5 (Pro or not) is absolutely humongous. I would be surprised if the PS6 ends up being any smaller. It’ll probably fit onto your shelf, but not in it.
but, no Steam library then. Or mods, emulation. All in all, it seems I’m in an extremely specific situation where buying SM seems optimal.
Looks like it. This computer will undoubtedly be an emulation powerhouse, just like the Deck. If the price is right and if it doesn’t have any teething issues at launch (which I doubt, given how mature the Deck was right away), then it might just be the ideal PC for you. If it’s pricier than expected for the performance, then you might want to return to me and we can discuss a SFF build as an alternative, if you want.
One thing I would recommend is buying the base model and upgrading storage yourself, since this is likely where Valve will charge more than what it would cost to perform the upgrade yourself. There are no other spec differences between the models and it’s likely that they’ll sell the base model close to cost, like the Deck. Based on what I’ve seen, upgrading storage should be trivially easy, far easier than on the Deck.
- Comment on Five years from launch the PS5 is a roaring success, so why doesn't it feel like it? [Eurogamer] 7 months ago:
Which games are you struggling with on the Deck?
What kind of issues did your friend have building a PC? It’s a rather straightforward process, really. You can make mistakes, of course, but if you prepare your build carefully, maybe get a second or third opinion from people with experience and knowledge, read a tutorial or two, then few things can really go wrong. I’m willing to help with the selection of components and some tips on the building process, if you want (I’ve been building PCs for decades, if that counts).
I get the appeal of the “Gabecube” (I hope this name sticks) for you though, but keep in mind that it is a relatively limited system in terms of power, quite a bit below current-gen consoles by current estimates and especially limited by its relatively small amount of VRAM. It should be able to play every Linux-compatible game for now (the most demanding at low settings only), but sooner or later, the limited GPU (which can not be upgraded, unlike on a normal PC), will result in games just not running well enough or not even booting, similar to certain newer games on the Deck. It is considerably more powerful than the Deck though.
It really depends on the price whether or not it’s a good low-end gaming PC. Hardware prices are not exactly ideal at the moment (RAM is the current sticking point, but GPUs aren’t cheap either), so if the Deck manages to be more affordable than a comparable budget build - kind of like the base-model Steam Deck has been a very impressive value proposition - it might be worth it.
- Comment on Five years from launch the PS5 is a roaring success, so why doesn't it feel like it? [Eurogamer] 7 months ago:
There are games, but few exclusives (just 18 the last time I checked). If you want to play modern games and don’t want a PC, it’s fine for that, without really being special in any way. It is a difficult value proposition for owners of the previous gen, since the jump in visual fidelity is much smaller than between prior generations (an inevitability that isn’t Sony’s fault) and since the previous generation is still being at least partially supported and was strongly supported for a very long time. However, over time, most have clearly made the jump and with the release of GTA VI (timed exclusive for PS), the system will see another significant boost.
Mods are not really a factor on consoles. Very few console gamers care about them. Xbox has slightly better support with fewer restrictions, but there are only a handful of games with support (mainly Bethesda RPGs). It clearly hasn’t helped the competition from Redmond.
- Comment on Star Citizen fans sigh deeply, rub their foreheads as developer casts doubt on Squadron 42's 2026 release: 'I don't know if we're going to make it' 9 months ago:
Both games released and even the N64 port of Daikatana is more fun on original hardware than Star Citizen ever will be.
- Comment on Tech CEOs Praise Donald Trump at White House Dinner 9 months ago:
Sure, but what play is being performed here? These men are more than powerful enough to go against Trump, yet every single one of them is playing the part of the obedient subject to the mighty king. The message of this bizarre play is that Trump is in charge, that he demands, in return of leaving you and your business alone, acts of what can only be described as public debasement.
That’s unsettling for a long list of reasons.
- Comment on An OpenAI whistleblower was found dead in his apartment. Now his mother wants answers 1 year ago:
It can mean that, but it’s also possible that he already had psychological issues. While the entire thing stinks and my first instinct is to assume foul play as well, it’s still important not to jump to conclusions. The reason is simple: If there’s a real case of corporate murder, then people will take it less seriously due to past conspiracy theories.
- Comment on Hogwarts Legacy Reportedly Getting New Content & A Sequel 1 year ago:
Just pirate the game. She won’t get a penny and you can play one of the better recent open world games. I’ve never particularly liked Harry Potter, even before the author showed her true colors, but I still enjoyed this game.
- Comment on Grand Theft Auto 6 is still hitting consoles in autumn, says Take-Two boss, promise 1 year ago:
This is perhaps the one game in development right now that could release at any time this year, next year or the year after that and it would still perform incredibly well. It’s pretty dead-set on being the largest entertainment launch in history. In other words: They can give it all the time it needs. The only worry from Rockstar’s and Take 2’s perspective is that they need to coordinate it with the behemoth of a marketing campaign that will be accompanying its release. There won’t be a last-minute delay, but if it needs more time, they need to realize this months ahead. So far, it seems to be on track or else the CEO wouldn’t release statements like these.
Since there is no PC release at launch and since it’s only targeting four different hardware configurations for the time being (both variants of the current-gen PS and Xbox), they don’t need to worry about making it run reliably on a wide variety of systems. Just like every other AAA developer, they are probably cursing Microsoft for releasing the cut-down Xbox Series S, but given what they have achieved in the past with hardware far less powerful, I doubt that Rockstar’s tech wizards will have too much trouble with getting GTA VI to run on this affordable console.
You are right about crunch though. Rockstar is notorious for this, always has been. I hope they’ve learned their lesson by now, realized that all crunch does is make people burn themselves out for worse results, but who knows, given how secretive the firm is.
- Comment on Grand Theft Auto 6 is still hitting consoles in autumn, says Take-Two boss, promise 1 year ago:
GTA V and RDR2 weren’t broken upon release, so why assume the worst with this game?
- Comment on 5 bizarre AI TV features that simply shouldn't exist 1 year ago:
Yup. One of several reasons why the Shield TV Pro is still the best streaming box. Using a smart TV after having gotten used to this device is painful.
- Comment on 5 bizarre AI TV features that simply shouldn't exist 1 year ago:
What you’re asking for is a monitor, not a TV. The last TV I’ve seen that is this limited still had a picture tube - and it wasn’t even the last CRT TV I’ve used (we actually had a very late one with HDMI). Regardless of how silly AI features are, there’s a middle ground.
- Comment on EA re-release The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 on PC as DLC-stuffed Legacy editions 1 year ago:
Installation is a tiny bit more complicated this way though. You need to manually unpack the content of the archives into your desired install folder before launching the installation, which then needs to install into this folder.
- Comment on EA re-release The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 on PC as DLC-stuffed Legacy editions 1 year ago:
Large corporations, just like any large organization, have significant institutional momentum. I would bet good money that this move was planned for months, if not longer, and was not a reaction to Veilguard underperforming.
- Comment on EA re-release The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 on PC as DLC-stuffed Legacy editions 1 year ago:
I would strongly suggest downloading the standalone installer and the install files (on a different github, you can see the address when using the web installer), in case this gets taken down, which isn’t exactly unlikely, now that the game isn’t abandonware anymore.
